Welcome back to the weekly review of everyone's favourite festive tradition, the AEW Continental Classic. Last week's review covered the first week of matches, and if you want an explainer for what is the Continental Classic and how it works, then you can check it out here.
Last week featured two big talking points, first of which being the status of Juice Robinson who suffered an injury during his opening match against Will Ospreay. That injury turned out to be serious enough to rule him out of the tournament (get well soon Juice!) and so Komander has been chosen as his replacement. Komander is one of the best luchadors around and his inclusion should bring us some really exciting matches, although I can't imagine Komander will win many of them. The second big point was Kazuchika Okada and Daniel Garcia both drawing their match with each other which is great news for Kyle Fletcher and Shelton Benjamin in the Blue League with the current Continental Champion Okada having to play catch-up to the two of them.
Blue League Round 2 - Shelton Benjamin vs Kyle Fletcher
Both men won their respective opening matches and both top the Blue League together coming into this Dynamite match. Both men are heels however Shelton plays the role of the face in this match given how respected he is by wrestling fans, and also given Fletcher is getting pretty big heel reactions currently no matter who he's facing.
The story of this match is the contrast between Fletcher's speed and Shelton's power - the two trade control for portions of this match in middle, with both men each getting a few minutes to dominate the proceedings. The latter portion of this match sees Fletcher go for a running strike however Shelton hits a huge super kick, and follows up with three German suplexes as the crowd goes crazy for him. Fletcher goes for a quick roll up which Shelton kicks out off, however Fletcher goes for another roll up using the ropes as leverage and he gets the three as he and Don Callis (who was on commentary, which I guess counts as officially not being ringside) scupper off immediately after.
A fun back and forth match that showcased both of their skills and movesets - the roll up finish does get over Fletcher's heelish persona, however it did bring a sour note to a great ending sequence. This was a pretty important match in determining where AEW are heading with this tournament, with Shelton and Fletcher being two guys who could conceivably both make the league finals, Fletcher winning here therefore indicates that their all in on giving Fletcher a spot at Worlds End. Later on Dynamite MVP tells Shelton that he's disappointed in him for not beating Fletcher, Shelton responds by murdering a poor AEW staff member.
Gold League Round 2 - Brody King vs Claudio Castagnoli
Like the opening match of Dynamite, this is a clash between two men who both have three points heading into this match. Brody King beat Darby Allin in last week’s Dynamite main event, whilst Claudio comes into this match after a big win against Ricochet. Brody is the face for this match with Claudio being part of the biggest heel faction in the company right now, the Death Riders, and this is reinforced with King getting big reactions from the crowd throughout this match.
Both men start even in the beginning of this match, however following Brody running right arm first into the middle turnbuckle, Claudio start to work over his arm by driving his right arm into the post from the outside, and takes the advantage in this match. The story of Brody's arm is told throughout the contest, such as him using his weaker left arm when trading strikes with Claudio, and when he does get in a big chop with his right arm to Claudio, he sells the arm heavily afterwards. We get a big spot near the end of the match after Claudio kicks out following a superplex and a Gotch style piledriver. Claudio bails to the outside and we get a big turning point on the outside when Brody runs back first into the barricade after Claudio ran out of the way at the last second. Back in the ring, Brody attempts the Gonzo bomb but Claudio rakes his eyes and low blows Brody with a heel kick out of sight of the referee - he hits the Neutraliser and gets the win.
This was the best of the two C2 matches on Dynamite, with this match telling a good story of Brody’s right arm effecting his ability to put down Claudio, and both men being able to raise the pace when needed to give the match the right amount of energy. The low blow near the end did feel unnecessary, and does cheapen the finish to what was a pretty good match.
Blue League Round 2 - Mark Briscoe vs Kazuchika Okada
This is the first time in a while that I've watched Rampage, and I had no clue that Chris Jericho was still doing commentary for this show. Okada comes into this match with only a point to his name after drawing with Daniel Garcia last week, while Mark Briscoe is hoping to get his first win of this years C2 (good luck Mark, you're going to need it).
Briscoe has the advantage early on although Okada manages to drop toe hold Briscoe into a chair at ringside to stop Briscoe’s early momentum. After Okada smashes Briscoes's head into the steel steps and Briscoe is cut open above his left eye. Okada spends a good portion of this match on top, however Briscoe manages to make a big comeback after hitting a ton of strikes and a fisherman buster for a two count. Following some Okada offense, Briscoe manages to avoid the Rainmaker and hits the Froggy Bow for a near fall. The finish of this match sees Okada goes for the Rainmaker again but Briscoe goes for the J-Drilla - Okada tries multiple times to avoid it and manages to get the Rainmaker for the three count and the three points.
Fun opener for Rampage, Okada was always going to win here but Briscoe got a lot of shine here and both men are entertaining to watch in the ring - worth the watch in my view.
Blue League Round 2 - The Beast Mortos vs Daniel Garcia
Garcia has one point following his draw against Kazuchika Okada, meanwhile The Beast Mortos is still waiting to get his first win.
This match starts off hot with both men going at it - Garcia does the exact same spot as Okada when he drop toe hold Mortos directly into the chair. The spot goes a little different for him however as following the ten punches to the head to Mortos, Mortos responds to Garcia running at him with a big lariat which turns the match into his favour. Garcia manages to start turning things around after a big superplex rolling into another suplex for a two. Mortos goes for a huge corkscrew leg drop but Garcia moves out of the way - following some trading strikes, Garcia rolls Mortos into a Jacknife pin out of nowhere for the three.
Mortos got a lot of the offense in this match but I think that worked for this match, with Mortos having a brilliant moveset whilst Garcia being great in the fighting from underneath role. Really fun match between these two and I would love to see these two face off again in the future.
Gold League Round 2 - Ricochet vs Komander
Ricochet is coming into this match with two loses in a row and is desperate for some points. As you might expect from these two, this match starts off at a high pace and it does not let up. We get a great tope suicida early on from Ricochet where he flies so far forward, like he's been shot out of a cannon. The match somewhat slows down (well, as much as Ricochet can slow down) as he works over Komander during the ad break, as we come back from the break, Komander hits a crazy top rope moonsault to the outside which sees Komander legally enter US air space. Ricochet manages to get his momentum back after he hits a northern lights suplex and transitions from it into a brainbuster. Komander shortly after does a great looking Hurricanrana following some incredible top rope balancing which sends the crowd into “this is awesome” chants. Following more Komander heroics, Ricochet commits murder after he hits a gnarly looking back-drop suplex onto the apron. Ricochet gets a very close near fall following Komander kicking out of his springboard 450 - Ricochet gets the win however after hitting a jumping Death Valley Driver and the Spirit Gun to put down Komander.
This was a superb lucha-style match that really lifted the crowd and showcased some incredible athleticism. These two are some of the best at this style of wrestling and it was a real joy to watch, the best match so far from this week.
Gold League Round 3 - Darby Allin vs Komander
We’re getting back-to-back Komander with him facing Darby Allin in the opening match of AEW Collision. Unlike Rampage, this week’s episode of Collision is coming live from a smaller arena in Columbus, Ohio. I do enjoy AEW more in the smaller arenas, I find the crowds tend to be far more up for the matches on offer and that helps lift the atmosphere of the overall product. Both men are looking for their first wins in the C2.
Allin spends the early portion of this match trying to ground Komander with headlocks to stop Komander being able to get in his trademark flying offence. Komander finally is able to string some offence together following a springboard top rope moonsault to the outside on Allin. Allin tries to stop him after throwing Komander the steps and sets Komander onto a chair to the outside. Allin goes to preform the suicide dive onto Komander, and the name of the move becomes incredibly apt as Komander moves out of the way and Allin dives into the chair as the chair explodes over Allin's back. Komander understandably gets the advantage following this, as Allin tires to fight back with his back compromised. Komander manages to get off a top rope Spanish Fly for a very close near fall with Allin needing to hold the rope to force the break. Allin gets his momentum back after hitting a Coffin Drop to the prone body of Komander who is draped over the ropes, and Allin then successfully hits his diving senton into Komander on the outside. Komander then proceeds to give Allin a bit of revenge, with him Monkey Flipping Allin off the apron and then Komander getting in a diving senton of his own. Komander’s undoing comes after he goes for a moonsault which Allin moves out of the way off, before Allin puts Komander into a cloverleaf style leg lock and rolls him up like a pretzel to get the three count.
This match had a bit of everything and was a rollercoaster to watch, especially with Darby Allin’s crazy chair bump. Darby Allin seemed pretty likely to get the win here but that didnt stop Komander getting his offense and Allin now has a second really great match in the C2 in a row, as well as finally getting the three points.
Blue League Round 3 - Kyle Fletcher vs Kazuchika Okada
This is a pivotal matchup with the two biggest favourites in the Blue League facing off against one another. Fletcher is still top of the league with six points, but Okada could take first place should he beat Fletcher here.
This is a heel vs heel matchup although Okada is treated like the face judging by the booing whenever Fletcher does anything. We get some pretty standard early match heel wrestling from Fletcher, with a series of headlocks and test of strengths to start the match. Okada starts to beat up Fletcher on the outside but Fletcher gains the upper hand after he hits Okada with a rope drapping ddt when Okada tries to get back into the ring. Okada starts to get back into the match following a jumping elbow and a ddt, and starts using his trademark offense, with the Moneyclip, his special neckbreaker, and his big elbow, but his Rainmaker attempt is thwarted when Fletcher rolls out of the ring. Fletcher hits a half-and-half suplex outside and a huge powerbomb in the ring for a near fall which lifts the crowd. Okada manages to hit a huge lariat later on but the rainmaker attempt is thwarted again - Okada throws Fletcher into the referee in the corner but Fletcher uses this distraction to low blow Okada and hit the Brainbuster to actually BEAT Okada.
This match felt a little slow to start but the last couple of minutes featured some great wrestling between these two. Fletcher getting the win was a huge shock to me as I thought this was going to go to a time-limit draw with the way it started. There's a very good chance Fletcher now doesn't lose a single match in this tournament, with Garcia the only person I can think that could deny Fletcher three points.
Blue League Round 3 - Mark Briscoe vs Daniel Garcia
Our final match of the week sees Daniel Garcia with the opportunity to grab second place in the Blue League following Okada's loss to Fletcher.
The two start this match with the code of honour and waste no time going at each other. Garcia gets Briscoe into the corner and disrespectfully rubs Briscoe's face, which Briscoe takes issue with and proceeds to chop the hell out of Garcia, and raising the physicality of this matchup in the process. Briscoe gets the crowd riled up early when he hits a senton dive through the middle rope to Garcia on the outside. Garcia gets some revenge when he hits the ten punches on the outside to Briscoe (who's sat on a chair), and Garcia walks back to get a running start, does his dance, and then hits a running dropkick as Collision goes into an ad break. Let's go straight to the finish of this one, where we start with Briscoe hitting the Froggy Bow which Garcia kicks out of. Some back and forth ensues and Briscoe goes for the nuclear option, hitting the Cut Throat Driver (basically the closest way you can "safely" hit a Burning Hammer) for a huge win over the TNT Champion.
This was a really physical matchup that the crowd were really into, and that's pretty impressive considering that this was a face vs face matchup without any big story apart from the tournament itself. Briscoe getting the win here really shocked me and I'm hoping this will lead to a TNT Championship shot for Briscoe once the tournament is done.
Week 2 Results
This week saw 5 of the 6 matches from the second round of the tournament, and 3 of the 6 matches from the third round. Ospreay vs Allin on the December 18th Holiday Bash Dynamite will complete the second round of the tournament. In the Blue League, Kyle Fletcher sits on top of the group with nine points, full marks from the Aussie, whilst Garcia and Okada are joint second with four points. In the Gold League, Claudio Castagnoli sits on top of the group with six points, however Will Ospreay has only wrestled one match so far and a win against Claudio on the upcoming Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite will see Ospreay level on points with Claudio and with a perfect record in the group.
Fletcher only needs one more win to guarantee himself a ticket to the semi-finals at Worlds End, with twelve points being enough to get qualification from the Blue League with Garcia and Okada both only able to get a total of 10 points from their remaining matches. Fletcher's win over Okada is a big endorsement from the company that they see him as a big star for 2025, and I can imagine him getting a huge moment in Brisbane on February 15th for AEW's first Australian PPV.
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